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Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - New Caledonia

1. The Committee notes the Government's report for the period ending 30 June 1994. It appears from the report supplied by the Government that, given the near stagnation of wage employment between 1993 and 1994, the number of jobseekers increased to more than 9 per cent. Declared unemployment has hit young people in particular; at the end of the period they account for almost 60 per cent of all jobseekers. In addition, unemployment has remained concentrated in the South Province.

2. The Government indicates that measures for the employment of young people have contributed to limiting the number of young people without jobs. Referring to its previous comments,the Committee notes, however, that the number of young persons having found jobs due to their participation in the "young trainees for development" plan is not known. It again invites the Government to indicate whether provisions have been taken or are envisaged so as to evaluate the results of the various youth training and insertion programmes for both sexes. The Committee recalls in this regard that, by virtue of Article 2 of the Convention, the measures in an employment policy must be determined and revised regularly with a view to attaining the objectives set out in Article 1, namely full, productive and freely chosen employment (along the lines of paragraph 2(c)).

3. The Committee also recalls that these measures must form part of the larger context of "coordinated economic and social policy". It regrets that the report does not contain the information requested previously on the global and sectoral development policies and their contribution to the promotion, "as a major goal", of full, productive and freely chosen employment. Referring to its previous requests, the Committee hopes, i particular, that the Government will supply with its next report full information on the measures taken or envisaged so as to promote harmonious regional development and redress the persistent disparity in the employment situation of the three provinces.